Four German Factories And 100,000 Jobs Are Eliminated By Volkswagen

It has been clear for some time that things need to change at Volkswagen. It is also clear that these involve rigorous changes, but what is emerging now is even more drastic than expected. We learn from Reuters and Handelsblatt that Volkswagen plans to cut up to 100,000 jobs, partly by closing four factories. The news has not yet been officially confirmed, but it certainly aligns with earlier reports.

This reportedly involves factories in Hanover, Zwickau, and Emden, plus the Audi factory in Neckarsulm, where the A5 and A6, among others, are built. In all cases, the intention does not appear to be to close operations as quickly as possible, but rather the doors will only close when the models currently built there reach the end of their life cycle.

If these factories are indeed closed, it is particularly painful because current, often electric products are simply rolling off the assembly lines there. Zwickau (photo above), for example, makes the ID3 and ID4, while Emden builds the ID4 and ID7.

In addition, according to the sources, Volkswagen is being restructured. All in all, it concerns the largest reorganization in Volkswagen’s 89-year history, says Manager Magazin. By the end of this decade, the new course is expected to have yielded around 11 billion in savings.

Cutting large numbers of jobs is far from easy in Germany, where trade unions and governments have significant influence.

• Read More: Volkswagen Also Thinks They Have “Too Many Models”